Directed by: Jon Watts
Written by: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers
Cast: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Swift shot: Peter Parker is back, but he isn’t ready to be an Avenger now that his mentor and friend Tony Stark is gone. He struggles to find his place, as do most of the people who returned from “The Blip.” That’s what they have coined the five year non-existence thanks to Thanos’ snap.
[Swift aside: Whenever I think of Blip, I think of the Gammarauders Teleporturtle]
Peter takes a little Euro-trip where he plans to finally tell MJ how he feels about her. Of course, nothing is easy for our web-slinging friend, and his plans are ruined by one of the more nasty villains he’s ever faced . . . his own self-doubt.
The film opens in Mexico, as a giant monster emerges from the ground, but as former SHIELD agents Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) approach it, they notice a new super-being has already started battling the fierce creature and warns them off.
Most of the film is centered around Peter’s high school road trip and there’s so many great comedic moments by Mr. Bell (J. B. Smoove) and Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr) that they almost deserve their own stand-alone comic series.
I won’t give it away, but as I mentioned, everyone has had to adjust post-Blip and these teachers are no exception. I mean, all that crap they were feeding the kids in school about science and math was basically shot down with the snap of a Titan’s fingers. It’s like, will that be on the test?
So, yea, the film is very teen-centric in that way, much like how Homecoming was a disguised John Hughes movie, Far From Home feels like an homage to Eurotrip or National Lampoon’s European Vacation.
As Peter navigates this new Tony-free world, and the Avengers are either dead or off-world handling other problems, he also has to keep his entire class safe and keep his secret identity hidden from everyone.
It’s not easy, and he honestly just wants a vacation. He reminded me of Dante in Clerks, he “wasn’t even supposed to be here today.” But, Peter meets a new leader, a freshly minted, chiseled-chin hero, Quentin Beck (Gyllenhaal).
Beck has been helping Fury and Hill track down this new threat from another dimension, one that destroyed his world and murdered his family. Giant elemental monsters are now in our dimension, and Beck, or as his fans call him, Mysterio is eager to help Peter find his way.
Mixed into the melee is Peter’s trusted buddy, Ned (Batalon) who has his own plans for the Europe trip. Ned wants to meet European girls and just enjoy himself. Naturally, instead he finds himself with Peter along for Mr. Fury’s Wild Ride; you don’t say no to Nick Fury!
And nothing is easy when you are a teenager. And there are plenty of teens in this movie.
Angourie Rice steals just about every scene she is in as Betty Brant. You probably remember her briefly from Homecoming, but she gets a lot more screen time in this film. And Flash Thompson is back, played by Tony Revolori who manages to enter some real character into the role as we learn a bit more about why he is such a jerk all the time.
And as Peter tries to figure out how he is going to deal with this new threat and somehow tell MJ how he feels about her, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) is making eyes at his hot Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). In short, Peter is being pulled all over the place, emotionally. And he is tested in this story in ways beyond imagination.
Now, while I loved much about this film, missing was the snappy wit that I love from Spider-Man in the comics. I only noticed one line where he says “going up” that made me chuckle. Most of the witty lines come as Peter, not as Spider-Man.
Ultimately this is a comic-book hero movie. And after Endgame I figured I would need more time to really love another superhero movie this soon. I was wrong; Jon Watts and his writers did a fantastic job keeping this film entertaining all the way from start to finish.
And speaking of the finish, while this is a Sony/Columbia Films movie, don’t be fooled, make sure you stick around after the credits for a major surprise. And, yes, I mean ALL of the credits – it’s so worth it!
